Object details
Accession number
M11s2
Primary Creator
Cominazzo Family
(active Gardone Val Trompia, 17th century)
Full title
Flintlock Pistol
Creation Date
about 1650-1675
Provenance
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner's husband, John L. Gardner, Jr. (1837-1898), from the art dealer Vincenzo Barone, Naples for 200 lire on 23 October 1897.
Marks
Inscribed (the top rear end of the barrel): LAZZARINO COMINAZZO (maker's mark)
Inscribed (side beneath the flash pan): Andrea Medicin (likely a maker's mark for Andrea Medicina)
Dimensions
48.3 cm (19 in.)
Display Media
Incised steel
Web Commentary
Isabella Gardner kept this object in the drawer of a commode in the Macknight Room. It has never been published, likely because of its hidden gallery location. Today safely kept in collections storage, this object was examined by museum and consulting conservators. They noticed surface corrosion, evidence of gunpowder, suggesting that this pistol was at one time fired—whether by a baroque aristocrat or a Boston lady is yet unknown....
Christopher T. Richards. "Collection Section." Staff Newsletter (Dec. 2014).
Permanent Gallery Location
Macknight Room
Rights and reproductions
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